Google's Chrome OS is an OS designed to do one thing and one thing only: run Google Chrome. It will be open source, it will run on ARM and x86, itís Linux based, and itís not going to launch until the second half of 2010. Taking a page out of Appleís book, Google is announcing it now as a way to avoid another party spill the beans before Google is ready.

The single most important thing to take from this announcement right now is just what Chrome OS will do. It wonít run an email client, it wonít run an office suite, and it wonít run games Ė it will only run Google Chrome. Itís Linux stripped to the bone, left with just enough to run Chrome, and nothing more.